| Summary: | <i>Sofrito</i> is a Mediterranean tomato-based sauce that typically also contains olive oil, onion, and garlic. The preparation of <i>sofrito</i> modifies the bioactive compounds (carotenoids and polyphenols) in the ingredients to more bioavailable forms, promoting <i>cis</i>-lycopene formation and polyphenol bioaccessibility. To evaluate the health benefits of this cooking technique, the effect of consuming an acute dose of <i>sofrito</i> on the inflammatory status was studied. In a clinical trial, 22 healthy male subjects consumed a single dose of <i>sofrito</i> (240 g/70 kg) after three days without ingesting any tomato products and following a low-antioxidant diet the day before the intervention. Plasma carotenoids and total polyphenol excretion (TPE) were evaluated, as well as the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). After the <i>sofrito</i> intake, a significant decrease in CRP (<i>p</i> = 0.010) and TNF-α (<i>p</i> = 0.011) was observed, but only TNF-α was inversely correlated with an increase in TPE and plasma <i>β</i>-carotene (not the major carotenoid, lycopene). The positive health effects of this tomato-based product may be attributed not only to lycopene, but to the bioactive compounds of all the ingredients.
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